Incomplete Transition Training Results In Return To Cardiff

If you plan a trip somewhere with a non-instrument-rated private pilot in a general aviation aircraft, you should be prepared for the possibility that unexpected poor visibility will force him to abandon your original destination. That's just good aeronautical decision-making, and it should give you confidence in his judgment.

But if you've paid for a flight on a commercial airliner, and your 30-year pilot says he's turning back because of IMC, you're not likely to be quite as favorably impressed.

Breitbart reports that very thing happened to passengers on a British Flybe airliner on a trip from Cardiff to Charles de Gaulle Airport in France. Just minutes before landing in Paris, the pilot reportedly got on the PA and told astonished passengers that he was not qualified to land the airplane in fog, and was turning back.

A spokeswoman for the low-cost airline explained, calling the pilot "an experienced aviator with more than 30 years commercial aviation experience flying a number of different passenger aircraft types.

"He has relatively recently transferred his 'type-rating' from a Bombardier Q300 to a Bombardier Q400 and has not yet completed the requisite low-visibility training to complete a landing in conditions such as the dense fog experienced in Paris Charles de Gaulle. The captain therefore quite correctly turned the aircraft around and returned to Cardiff; a decision which the company stands by 100 percent." Civil aviation officials agree.

A passenger, 29-year-old Cassandra Grant, said she ended up missing an appointment for a job interview in Paris. "The whole thing beggars belief. If I had not been on the plane, I would not have believed it."

The next time you're tempted to complain about your flight on a low-cost carrier in the US, remember -- it could be worse!

FMI: www.flybe.com